$1.5 Million Grant Awarded to Vanderbilt University for New Center on Developing Coursework for Students with Disabilities

The U.S. Department of Education today announced a $1.5 million grant to Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tenn., to create a national center to develop coursework and teacher training materials to help students with disabilities achieve their academic potential.

The National Center for Development of Coursework and Training Modules to Improve Services and Results for Children with Disabilities will serve as a national resource for educators, providing valuable assistance to address the needs of children with disabilities.

"This center will help give educators the tools they need to monitor children's progress, make data-based decisions and work collaboratively to adjust instruction strategies to effectively teach diverse learners," said U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan.

Key areas of focus include:

Serving as a national resource for teaching and learning tools, coursework, and training materials to build the capacity of educators so that they may use evidence-based instructional and intervention practices in addressing the needs of children with disabilities, birth through age 21;

Developing evidence-based instructional modules for use by university professors in delivering coursework to address the needs of children with disabilities, birth through age 21;

Developing evidence-based instructional modules in delivering professional development training for early learning and special education providers; and

Using technology to effectively develop and deliver evidence-based practices.